Wallboard construction



Dec. 18, 1945. H, A. HAUPTLI 2,391,052

WALLBOARD CONSTRUCTION l Filed Aug. 21, 1941 Patented Dec. 1-8, 1945 WALLBOARD- CON STRUGIIQN.

HerbertI A...Hauptli, Dubuque; Iowa, Iassig'norto Maizewood 'Insulation Company,

Dubuque,A

`Ifowa, acorporation of IowaA .Application August. 21, 1941,v Seriali No.A 410313712 .The invention, relates@ to; wrallooard'; constructions composed of -a-:plllraiityf-.of-'wall.- board .panels .customarilymarketedinlargesizes. ready/for.'y use;- and dimensioned. conventiorrallyY to extend; in upright; '.positiomirom: thef fluor.` ci: .a1 rooms A.toftheceilingrmnedgewisezabutting relationY torserve. Athe.place 'nplaster or other` internal;

roomenishing-materials;

One of the outstanding visual features. tot a wallboard constructionni: this; type :is .themappearance of the? vabutting'.edges.I on joints: between adjacent: panels., `CJ.onventionally, panels. of this general; .type are. constrncted.of4 al cheap. material in.` relatively wide-dimensions; and the concealing or .mas-king of the.` joints.. between theepanels lis a dimcult, problem. ,Because/of ,fthe--cheapiconstruction-,of manyof the conventional wallboardpanels onl the market, and frequently because of their large-and cumbersome size,1 .i-t.. has been impraatical tovv form `a smooth. and.. carefully concealed. joint, `the result .being in manyinstances an. .unsightly. appearance.. Even where the vabutting edges of adjacent. panels .are skillfully matched, the .objectionable appearance, of. a..,joint.,r,emains. Many schemes, such. as. the usefoi furring. strips, have. been proposed` and used, allof which have been unsatisfactory either because, the added ex. pense of material andi labor entailed is. too great or because the. object. has. not been effectively achieved.

'It is accordingly an object ofthe invention to provide anew and improved panel wallboard construction which, when secured lto a wall, not only completely disguises and conceals the joint between the. abuttingedgesof the respective panels, but in addition gives' a definitely ornamental appearance to the wall as a whole.

In connection with the foregoing, it is a further object of the invention to provide a novel co-nstruction of this type in which the nails or securing members employed for attaching the panels to the upright structural members of va wall may be simply and effectually concealed.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a plurality of panels secured to the upright studding of a wall construction and illustrating the features of my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary detailed perspective view on an enlarged scale showing a portion of one panel.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on an enlarged scale andytaken ontherline `3 3, ofEig. 1.

While theinvention is susceptible of variousv modifications and` alternative,` constructions I haveishown in the drawing and will-herein descr-iba int detailythe; preferred embodiment, but itV isn tube-understood that I- do .not` thereby intend tov lim-it l the4 inventiong to the specic formv disclosed; .but .intend tocover all modications and alternati-ve constructions fallingl within the spirit and ascope, of the, invention as expressed inthe appendedl claim.

vReferring more particularly to Fig. 1 ofthe drawingwhereinlhave illustrated one exemplary embodiment of. the invention, suitable structural members, .such as. conventionalY timber studding Ill,A are arranged inevenlyspaced relation to extend-vertically from the edge of .a lloor construction II. A-.pluralityof wallboard panels I 2, in the present instance three being illustrated fragmentarily, are-arranged onthe studdingso thattheir adjacent. edges. I3. are in registered abutment forming a joint.

.Since each panel has a, relatively large widthv dimension and is'. fabricatedoi a cheap material, the. problem of. eiectually disaguising or masking the..jont formedV by the abutting Vedges I3 so asto Yovercome thelunsightliness of a. crack isdilcult in, the, absence of such means as. furringstrips andmoldings. Such construction requiresadditional labor andexpenseand frequently tails to. create the. desired visual effect. 'I'he alternative expedient of skillfully matching the abutting edges has. been employed in more eX- pensive constructions to the end that the appearance of" joints `between the respective panels be minimized. Complete elimination` of such appearance, however, has been impossible heretofore even with the exercise of great care and skill.

The present invention contemplates the use of a simple, yet highly eiective, device for completely disguising the presence of a joint between the abutting edges I3, although neither eliminating nor actually hiding the joint. In other words, the use of furring strips or similar expedients for hiding the joint is dispensed with and the necessity for careful and skillful matching of the abutting edges to minimize the appearance of a crack or joint is likewise obviated. In accordance with my invention, use is made of at least a partial optical illusion to disguise the presence of a joint although the joint in fact is neither eliminated nor hidden. To this end, the front corners of each of the abutting edges I3 of the panels are beveled, as at I4 (Fig. 2), to a depth less than the full thickness dimension of the panel and at a suitable angle, in the present instance approximately forty-five degrees. When the adjacent edges of the panels are mounted in registered abutment during assembly these abutting, beveled edges will constitute a groove I (Figs. 1 and 3). Each panel is further provided with at least one groove I6 preferably of a depth and angularity conforming to the beveled edge I4 and located closely adjacent and parallel to each of its beveled edges I4 adjacent the respective opposite edges of the panel. In the present instance, two such grooves I6 are provided along each upright edge of each panel and, as Villustrated in Fig. 1, this expedient .provides with the groove I5 a set of at least three, and in the present instance iive, matching parallel grooves of the same Width and depth at each line of juncture between adjacent wallboard panels. The

plain, broad expanse of the panel is thus interf` in the present instance, two sets I'I of ve grooves each are provided intermediate the edges of each panel I2 and are equally spaced from the edges to divide the panel visually into three equal sections. It will be apparent .that in theabsence of an extremely careful examination of the wallboard construction, the groove I5, having the joint between the abutting edges I3 disguised by the beveled surfaces I4 and by the matching parallel grooves I 6 and II, is indistinguishable from the plain grooves I Ii and I1 intermediate the edges of the panels and having no suer joints. Thus the grooves are grouped to form Vvertical stripes which are spaced apart and which provide a recurring pattern onrthe wall surface.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 3 of the drawing, it will be seen that the parallel ,groove I6 formed nearest the beveled abutting edge I4 of each panel is positioned, with respect to said abutting edge, within the `width dimension of a studding I0, the joint I5 between two adjacent panels being located substantially centrally of the studding. Securing means,`in the present instance comprising rows of finishing nails I8,

are driven through the grooves I6 nearest the beveled edges and into the studing I0, the heads being counter-sunk below the bottom of each groove. As shown, the. groove is of greater width than the diameter of the nail heads so that the nail heads when set below the surface will not widen the groove. The securing means are thus substantially concealed from view within the shadows of the grooves I 6.

To provide a color contrast which further em phasizes the sets of grooves and thus further Y problem.

extra material is required, and the labor for at-v taining these advantages is negligible. The installation operation is extremely simple. Accordingly, the invention constitutes a. simple yet highf ly eiective solution to a hitherto troublesome I claim as my invention:

A wallboard construction 'comprising uprigt studs, and a plurality of panels in edgewise abut# ting relation, with the abutting edges of the panels extending vertically and overlying studs, said .f panels forming a continuous wall surfaceV and4v having grooves grouped to form vertical stripes spaced apart .and providing a recurring pattern on the wall surface with a stripe located at each pair of abutting edges and formed partially on each of the adjoining panels, each of the stripes so located and formed including a groove formed by beveled surfaces onjthe abutting edges of the adjoining panels, one of the grooves in each of4 the adjoining panels adjacent the edge of the panel being spaced from the edge a distance less than one-half the Width dimension `of the stud whereby to receive a row of nails `in the groove entering the stud, the width of the nail-receivf ing grooves being greater than the diameter of the nail heads wherebyv the nail heads may be set below the surface of the panel without widening the groove, said recurring pattern of vstripes substantially concealing the adjoining edges of the panels and the rows of nails.

HERBERT A. HAUPTLI. 

